Parents kind of have to be at least financially responsible for their children's mistakes until they reach adulthood. Otherwise the rest of the world would have to pay for their mistakes. Kids don't have money (and if they do it is almost certainly given to them by parents anyway). If they damage someone's property then someone has to pay to fix it.
Outside of financial stuff it's a bit more complicated. I think that personal responsibility is something that you gradually shift over to children over time. So, for example, if my 5 year old breaks my neighbour's window, I will apologise for this myself, but I would make a little show of getting my 5 year old to say sorry too. Then I would obviously pay for the damages.
If my 18 year old breaks the neighbour's window I would tell them they need to get off their entitled arse and go around to apologise and pay for the damages themselves. No input from me. If they refuse I would just let the neighbour deal with them directly, which I presume would end in them reporting it to the police, if my kid never apologised and offered to pay. Then I suppose the police would issue then with a fine, force them to pay damages, or whatever the local law dictates.
Should parents be held responsible for their kids' mistakes?
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Parents kind of have to be at least financially responsible for their children's mistakes until they reach adulthood. Otherwise the rest of the world would have to pay for their mistakes. Kids don't have money (and if they do it is almost certainly given to them by parents anyway). If they damage someone's property then someone has to pay to fix it.
Outside of financial stuff it's a bit more complicated. I think that personal responsibility is something that you gradually shift over to children over time. So, for example, if my 5 year old breaks my neighbour's window, I will apologise for this myself, but I would make a little show of getting my 5 year old to say sorry too. Then I would obviously pay for the damages.
If my 18 year old breaks the neighbour's window I would tell them they need to get off their entitled arse and go around to apologise and pay for the damages themselves. No input from me. If they refuse I would just let the neighbour deal with them directly, which I presume would end in them reporting it to the police, if my kid never apologised and offered to pay. Then I suppose the police would issue then with a fine, force them to pay damages, or whatever the local law dictates.